Site Event/Activity record ECH7001 - Radbroke Hall - Research and Recording

Summary Radbroke Hall was designed by Percy Scott Worthington for Claude and Olga Hardy and built 1912 – 1917 on land acquired from Lord Egerton of Tatton. In 1956 the property was sold to the Nuclear Power Group who built offices and a testing tower in the grounds. Barclays Technology Centre (BTC) took over the site in 1972 constructing buildings and car parks on the eastern side of the site, and subsequently developing additional land to the north for further car parking. In 2020 proposals for redeveloping and partial re greening of BTC were submitted to Cheshire East Council for planning approval. The site is not open to the public except for community events. Principal remaining features Radbroke Hall, listed Grade II Rose garden wall and pavilions, listed Grade II Rose garden Entrance court Drive from north entrance lined in part avenue of mature Lime and Beech tree Parkland with mature specimen trees from former hedgerows Boundary tree belt Garden The surviving historic garden is situated east of the hall and comprises a linear space with limited planting near the hall, and the sunken rose garden with listed wall and pavilions. These spaces are enclosed by walls to the north and clipped yew hedges to the south and east. They retain their original layout of paths, walls, changes of level, steps, planting beds and enclosing hedges. Later additions comprise picnic benches, timber seats and litter bins. From the curved bay of the former dining room on the east elevation of the hall an axial path descends a flight of steps and continues past an intersection with a path at right angles, to a further short flight of steps into the sunken rose garden. The paths are paved with York stone flags and have square concrete drainage gullies with a hemispherical depression perforated by drainage holes. The path at right angles to the main axis leads out of the garden to the grass and parkland to the south, and north to the bicycle shed forecourt. The rectangular rose garden is set on two levels, the ground retained by coursed rubble walls. The changes in level are graduated; a deeper drop from the upper to intermediate level, approximately 1.2m, and a shallower drop to the lowest level, approximately 60cm. Flights of stone steps on each axis are set into the banks. The rose beds are set as panels in the grass with central circular bed planting accentuated by standard roses. Steps from the southern axis lead between topiary marking the end of the hedge to the multi use games area. The northern axis leads to the paved walk linking two garden pavilions. The intersection is celebrated with a curved alcove in the high boundary wall. The alcove is flanked by ashlar stone piers with projecting stone copings. The urns originally surmounting the piers have been removed. The walls are of random squared rubble (a different and paler stone to that used for the rose garden retaining walls) with tapered triangular buttresses, which are largely obscured by variegated ivy and Euonymus trained against the wall and supported by training wires. The curved alcove wall has a simple stone coping while the walls either side have their height increased by tapered stone courses above the coping stone. The alcove paving is also carefully detailed; edged with a course of rectangular stone slabs enclosing an area of stone crazy paving with a central diamond filled with cobbles. Garden pavilions at either end of the paved walk are linked to the boundary by curved walls with ashlar stone piers. At the west end the curved wall accommodates a curved oak door. The design of the pavilions, with their steep roofs, overhanging eaves, niches and glazed oak doors, is very arts and crafts, redolent of designs by Thomas Mawson and others. North of the rose garden and bounded by the exterior of the rose garden wall is a late 20th century garden of lawns, low clipped hedges, paths and seating areas. Parkland Parkland south and west of the hall has been retained with some individual trees and small tree groups, survivors of former hedgerows. The grass is mown and areas laid out for sport, with fenced multi sport games areas and tennis courts south of the rose garden. A lawn west of the Hall is partly enclosed by a clipped hedge while lawn areas south of the hall continue uninterrupted into the parkland . Car parking areas alongside the drive from the A50 have been extended to the tree belt at the west end, separated from the parkland by recently established beech hedging